4 stocks to watch on Thursday: NFLX, AMZN and more

U.S. stock index futures on Thursday pointed to a mixed open, a day after Wall Street’s tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (COMP:IND) index posted its worst intraday session since September 2022. Here are some stocks to watch on Thursday:

• Shares of Blackstone (BX) slipped more than 1% in pre-market trading, after the New York-based company’s Q2 distributable earnings per share of 96 cents came in slightly below the consensus estimate. Blackstone (BX), which is one of the world’s largest private equity firms, has seen a mixed impact on its segments due to high interest rates – its real estate unit’s performance has been impacted, but the worth of its private equity assets have been boosted. “We reported another quarter of strong results, underpinned by nearly $40B of inflows and $34B of deployment – reflecting the highest level of investment activity in two years,” Blackstone (BX) top boss Stephen Schwarzman said. See how BX performed in charts.
• Abbott (ABT) stock was marginally lower ahead of the opening bell, despite the Ill.-based firm delivering a Q2 top- and bottom-line beat and raising its annual profit guidance. Its flagship medical devices business saw quarterly reported revenue growth of 10.2% Y/Y to $4.73B. The segment includes its biggest product, the FreeStyle Libre glucose monitor, which brought in sales of $1.6B. Abbott’s (ABT) diagnostics segment saw an expected decline in quarterly revenue due to a continued decline in COVID-19 testing-related sales. See how ABT performed in charts.
• Shares of Netflix (NFLX) will garner significant attention after the closing bell. The U.S. streaming giant is on tap to report Q2 numbers, with Wall Street expecting earnings per share of $4.76 on revenue of $9.53B. Focus will be on the performance of its ad-supported tier, which Netflix (NFLX) launched in November 2022. The entertainment behemoth in May disclosed that the number of monthly active users subscribing to that tier had hit 40M subscribers. Netflix (NFLX) for Q2 has guided for 3.8M net subscriber additions globally, versus a consensus estimate of 4.8M. Also in focus will be any further plans by the Los Gatos, Calif.-based company to ramp up its push into live sports.
• Amazon (AMZN) stock added more than 1% in pre-market trading. Data from Adobe Analytics suggested that the retail and tech giant’s flagship Prime Day shopping event – which runs from July 16 to 21 – was on track to set a record. According to Adobe’s estimates, consumers spent $7.2B on July 16, up 11.7% Y/Y and marking the single biggest e-commerce day so far in 2024. Adobe also said that July 16 was the biggest mobile shopping day of the year so far, contributing $3.5B in online spending. As per Adobe’s analysis, the electronics category outshone, with sales up 33% Y/Y.

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